If you think Al Franken had a tough week, just ask
the Ottawa Senators how things are going. It's been a tough week to be a
Senator. The Sharks welcomed their counterparts from Canada's capital to SAP
Center on Saturday night, and applied an old fashioned tail whipping in a 5-0
route before a sellout crowd on Super Hero Night. It may have been more
appropriate to call it a Hulk Smash, as five different Sharks scored on 50
shots.

There was no doubt who had the upper hand in this game from the
opening faceoff. The Sharks buzzed Senators goaltender Craig Anderson from the
get go, throwing 10 shots at Anderson before Ottawa mustered their second shot
on goal.

Anderson was besieged with flying pucks all night, but he
kept his team in the game for the first ten minutes of the game. San Jose could
have easily scored a series of goals in the opening half of the opening period
had it not been for Anderson's heroics.

Logan Couture finally solved
Anderson 12:55 into the game by putting a shot from the left side through the
goaltender's 5-hole for his 15th goal of the season. Kevin Labanc setup the
goal with a pass from the off wing with a defender on his hip.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead 5:31 into the 2nd period with a
shot from the point that slipped between Anderson's left skate and the right
post. The seam left little room for error, but Vlasic's shot found that crack
in the Senators defense.

Melker Karlsson added his 5th goal of the season just
under 10 minutes later, receiving a Joe Pavelski pass from behind the Ottawa
goal and lifting a shot past Anderson. The Sharks forward was parked near the
left post, one-timing Pavelski's feed just as Anderson turned his head away
from Karlsson to find the puck. Needless to say, Anderson never saw the shot,
which made it a 3-0 game.

The 3rd period turned into a penalty fest as
the Senators began to get testy over their inevitable fate. Ryan Dzingel
decided to start lobbing haymakers at Marcus Sorensen 2:21 into the period,
which put the Sharks on the power play.

Pavelski made the Senators pay
for Dzingel's infraction when he deflected a Couture shot pas Anderson from
just outside the left post for his 6th goal of the season. Pavelski changed the
trajectory on the puck by about 45 degrees, leaving Anderson with little chance
to stop the shot.

Dell sealed his shutout bid with a series of big
saves midway through the period. The Senators thought they put a puck past Dell
while Jannik Hansen was serving a cross checking penalty, but video review
confirmed the puck did not cross the goal line.

Things took an ugly
turn when Alex Burrows caught Dylan Demelo with the butt-end of his stick in
the nose, dropping the Sharks defenseman in his tracks. Demelo skated off on
his own power, but headed straight to the locker room with a leaking nose.

Burrows earned a roughing minor, a fighting major and a game
misconduct for his stick work. It was odd that a single fighting major penalty
was awarded, but it was even odder that Demelo received a penalty for
essentially taking a stick to his face. All penalties were given with 5:09 left
in the game, so Burrows major penalty put the Sharks on the power play for the
remainder of the game.

Tomas Hertl capped the mauling with his 6th
goal of the season with 2:22 left in regulation by collecting a big rebound in
the slot and lifting a shot past Anderson. Brent Burns fired a shot from the
blueline that Anderson stopped with a blocker save, but the puck deflected
right out to Hertl who was parked between two Senator defenders.

The
win marked the second consecutive 5-goal game for the Sharks goaltender. For
Franken, it marked a couple hours reprieve as the Senators having to dodge
shots being taken by the opposition.

Game Notes:

*
Craig Anderson finished the game with 45 saves, but the Sharks threw a season
high 50 shots on goal. Aaron Dell finished the evening with 25 saves for his
2nd shutout of the season.

* Brent Burns led all skaters with 8 shots
on goal. He combined with Timo Meier for 15 shots on goal. Every Shark skater
recorded a shot on goal with the exception of Jannik Hansen and Dylan Demelo.

* Along with their 50 shots on goal, the Sharks had 23 shots blocked
and put 18 wide of the net for a whopping 91 potential shot attempts.

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